First Mennonite Church (Sugarcreek, Ohio, USA)
In 1926 Rev. Lester Hostetler (and his wife Charity) resigned as the minister of Walnut Creek Mennonite Church because of the teachings in the (Old) Mennonite Church at that time regarding dress, life insurance, hairstyles, education, church choirs, and other issues. Lester had attended Union Theological Seminary in New York and was also a trained musician. He was soon called to be the minister of the Mennonite congregation that met at the Sugarcreek Union Church, which was built to be a public place of worship in 1894.
The building was shared with the German Reformed and the United Brethren. Later the Church of the Brethren also met here. Additions were built in 1912 and 1928.
In 1914 both the United Brethren and the Reformed congregations withdrew to meetinghouses of their own; the Church of the Brethren and the Mennonites used it for services each Sunday until 1956 when the Mennonites purchased the Brethren interest in the building
After several years as an independent Mennonite congregation known as the Sugarcreek Mennonite Church, in August 1929, it unanimously voted to join the General Conference Mennonite Church as well as the Middle District Conference. By the early 1930s, it became known as First Mennonite Church.
In 2022 the congregation was part of the Central District Conference of Mennonite Church USA.
Bibliography
Hostetler, Lester. "Conference." The Mennonite 44, no. 31 (8 August 1929): 4.
"Our history." First Mennonite Church. 2020?. Web. 29 August 2022. https://www.fmcsugarcreekoh.org/about.
Rich, Elaine Sommers, ed. Walking Together in Faith: The Central District Conference, 1957-1990. Bluffton, Ohio: The Conference, 2003.
Additional Information
Address: 113 Main Street, PO Box 250, Sugarcreek, Ohio 44681
Phone: 330-852-2822
Website: https://www.fmcsugarcreekoh.org/
Denominational Affiliations: Central District Conference Conference
Pastoral Leaders at First Mennonite Church
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Lester Hostetler (1892-1989) | 1926-1932 |
| W. Wilbur Miller (1899-1991) | 1932-1935 |
| Jesse N. Smucker (1892-1983) | 1932-1935 |
| William H. Stauffer (1910-2005) | 1935-1956 |
| Harold D. Thieszen | 1956-1962 |
| Donald K. Nester (1936-2001)(Interim) | 1962-1963 |
| Claude F. Boyer (1929-2013) | 1963-1978 |
| Dick Marshall | 1978 |
| Lorne Friesen | 1978-1985 |
| Russell L. Mast (1915-2007) | 1985 |
| Edd Mooney | 1986-1992 |
| Melvin Leidig | 1992-1994 |
| Kevin Farmwald | 1994-2003 |
| Julie Gerber | 2003-2004 |
| Helen Glick | 2003-2004 |
| Rob Burdette | 2003-2004 |
| Jayne Byler | 2004-2014 |
| Mike Gehman | 2016-present |
Membership at First Mennonite Church
| Year | Membership |
|---|---|
| 1929 | 135 |
| 1940 | ? |
| 1950 | 210 |
| 1960 | 238 |
| 1970 | 263 |
| 1980 | 276 |
| 1990 | 258 |
| 2000 | 158 |
| 2007 | 102 |
| 2020 | 57 |
Original Mennonite Encyclopedia Article
By William H. Stauffer. Copied by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, pp. 653-654. All rights reserved.
Sugarcreek First Mennonite Church (Mennonite Church USA) of Sugarcreek, Tuscarawas County, Ohio, was organized as a congregation in the Middle District Conference (General Conference Mennonite Church) in 1926 with 84 charter members under the leadership of Lester Hostetler. The group had withdrawn from the Walnut Creek (Mennonite Church) congregation of the Ohio and Eastern Amish Mennonite Conference. The first meetinghouse here was erected in 1894 as a community church, services being conducted by the United Brethren and Reformed churches. Later the Church of the Brethren also met here. Additions were built in 1912 and 1928. In 1914 both the United Brethren and the Reformed congregations withdrew to meetinghouses of their own; the Church of the Brethren and the Mennonites used it for services each Sunday until 1956, when the Mennonites purchased the Brethren interest in the building and are now erecting a new church. The membership in 1957 was 250, with Harold D. Thieszen as pastor.
| Author(s) | Samuel J Steiner |
|---|---|
| Date Published | August 2022 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Steiner, Samuel J. "First Mennonite Church (Sugarcreek, Ohio, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. August 2022. Web. 24 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=First_Mennonite_Church_(Sugarcreek,_Ohio,_USA)&oldid=174162.
APA style
Steiner, Samuel J. (August 2022). First Mennonite Church (Sugarcreek, Ohio, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 24 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=First_Mennonite_Church_(Sugarcreek,_Ohio,_USA)&oldid=174162.
©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.